The President’s Photographer

Inauguration Night

Photograph by Pete Souza

National Geographic’s The President’s Photographer explores the perspective of the visual historians who capture both public and intimate moments in the lives of Presidents. Browse this gallery of the work of some of the photographers—and their subjects—featured in the program.

Here, President Obama and the First Lady share a private moment on a freight elevator in Washington’s convention center on the night of his inauguration in 2009. The photograph is considered by many to be one of photographer Pete Souza’s iconic images—so far.

White House Theater

Photograph by Pete Souza

A few weeks after inauguration, President Obama, the First Lady, friends, and members of Congress donned 3-D glasses while watching a commercial during Super Bowl XLIII in the family theater of the White House.

Caroline and John F. Kennedy

Photograph by Cecil Stoughton, White House/JFK Library, Boston

Cecil Stoughton’s photographic coverage evolved from making the typical ceremonial images of previous administrations to documentary-style pictures like this one of John F. Kennedy and his daughter, Caroline, aboard a yacht in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in August 1963.

Bush Family

Photograph by Eric Draper/George W. Bush Presidential Library

George W. Bush’s chief photographer, Eric Draper, caught Barbara Bush photographing the Presidents Bush on January 28, 2001. “One thing I learned right off the bat,” Draper said, “is that when you say, ‘Mr. President,’ they both turn around.”

Lyndon B. Johnson’s Swearing In

Photograph by Cecil Stoughton, White House/JFK Library, Boston

Cecil Stoughton’s images of the trip to Texas by John F. Kennedy provide key beats in the story on the fateful day of the assassination. Later, Stoughton made perhaps the most famous—and most important—image ever taken by a presidential photographer as LBJ is sworn in on Air Force One.

Betty Ford

Photograph by David Hume Kennerly/Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library

David Hume Kennerly made this picture the day before the Carters moved into the White House. Taking a last tour of the West Wing, Betty Ford told him she’d always wanted to dance on the Cabinet Room table. A former Martha Graham dancer, she slipped off her shoes, hopped on the table, and struck a pose.